The debate over health care subsidies continues

As the federal government shutdown continues with no end in sight, debate over whether to extend federal health insurance subsidies continues to play a central role in the impasse.

Democrats in the US Senate condition their votes to reopen the government on extending tax breaks for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Republicans remain unwilling to negotiate until the shutdown ends, with some calling for more comprehensive health care reform rather than extending subsidies.

Democratic state lawmakers pressed the issue at a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol last week, joined by union representatives and others affected by health care costs.

One of those speakers was Lisa Lynch, a single mother from Minneapolis who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer last January. Lynch said she relies on Medicaid, MinnesotaCare and other public insurance programs for life-saving treatment.

“Health care to me is not a partisan issue, it’s a humanitarian issue,” Lynch said. “I am asking our elected officials to end the shutdown and restore funding for Medicaid and the ACA, because no one fighting for their life should have to fight for their coverage, too.”

Becky Cook, who uses MNsure for health coverage, said she relies on daily medications that cost up to $46,000 a month to treat a condition that can cause sudden swelling, including in her tongue and throat. Next year, for the same plan, her premiums will rise about an additional $5,000 a year, she said.

“There were times when I didn’t take rescue medications because a trip to the emergency room cost me less than having to buy rescue medication,” Cook said, calling the Republicans’ position “unreasonable.”

DFL state lawmakers, including Sen. Alice Mann, a doctor from Edina, have warned that nearly 200,000 Minnesotans are at risk of losing their health coverage if benefits — which are set to expire at the end of the year — are not extended.

“Here we are begging for health care from the same government that just gave Argentina a $20 billion bailout, and from the same government that is remodeling the White House and adding a ballroom,” she said.

If the benefits end, some out-of-pocket premiums are expected to more than double for those receiving help through the Affordable Care Act, according to state Rep. Kaohli Herr.

Republicans in Congress say they want broader health care reform. Party leaders did not specify how to deal with the expiring tax breaks, insisting that they will not negotiate the issue until Democrats agree to end the shutdown.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a news conference Monday that the tax breaks “support bad policy.”" Republicans "You have a long list of ideas" To address health care costs, “we’re putting together the best ideas we’ve had in years to put them on paper and make them work,” he said.

“We believe in the private sector, the free market and individual service providers,” Johnson added.

The Associated Press reported that a September analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that permanently extending the tax credits would increase the deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2035. The CBO projected that the number of people with health insurance would rise by 3.8 million people in 2035 if the exemptions were retained. tax.